Tiger
The Tiger I was a German heavy tank of World War II deployed from 1942 in Africa and Europe, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. Its final designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E often shortened to Tiger. The Tiger I gave the Wehrmacht its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm KwK 36 gun (not to be confused with the 8.8 cm Flak 36). 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. Overview While the Tiger I has been called an outstanding design for its time, it was over-engineered, using expensive materials and labour-intensive production methods. The Tiger was prone to certain types of track failures and breakdowns, and was limited in range by its high fuel consumption. It was expensive to maintain, but generally mechanically reliable. It was difficult to transport, and vulnerable to immobilisation when mud, ice, and snow froze between its overlapping and interleaved Schachtellaufwerk-pattern road wheels, often jamming them solid. This was a problem on the Eastern Front in the muddy rasputitsa season and during periods of extreme cold. The tank was given its nickname "Tiger" by Ferdinand Porsche, and the Roman numeral was added after the later Tiger II entered production. The initial designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H (‘‘''Panzer VI version H''’’, abbreviated PzKpfw VI Ausf. H) where 'H' denoted Henschel as the designer/manufacturer. It was classified with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 182. The tank was later re-designated as PzKpfw VI Ausf. E in March 1943, with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181. Today, only seven Tiger I tanks survive in museums and private collections worldwide. The Tiger 131 at the UK's Tank Museum, which was captured during the North Africa Campaign, is currently the only one restored to running order. In Flames of War The Tiger tank is one of the most fearsome “Big Cats” in Flames Of War. Front armour 9, Side armour 8, and packing the famous 88mm gun (40"/100cm range, AT 13 in old editions, 14 in V4, Firepower 3+), it can take on most tanks in a gun duel and win. However, one Tiger costs 29 points in Mid-War and 215 points in 2017-rules Late-war, which means that only up to two Tiger tanks might be deployed in a 100 point game, soaking up most of the point limit, while deploying a full-strength company for the Late-War will exceed the limits of the standard 1700 point game. The unit cost has changed in the 2019 Late-War rules - now one Tiger I costs 12 points per tank, which makes it possible to deploy a Tiger I company in a 100-point or 150-point limit Late-War game. Unit Organization The Tiger tanks were deployed in separate tank companies, which is reflected in the game. Mid-War Tigers in "Afrika Korps" and "Iron Cross" Mid-War campaigns were initially allowed to be deployed only as support units to infantry companies or Panzer III and Panzer IV tank companies. Ghost Panzers campaign allows deploying the Tigers in Mid-War as a legit formation, though only three tanks might be deployed for a 100 point limit, with 13 spare points. Combat platoons and the HQ section are composed of one Tiger minimum or two tanks this type maximum; Tigers in the combat platoons might have Panzer III escort tanks assigned for additional 8 points per a tank - either a Panzer III (5 cm) uparmoured (Panzer III L), or a Panzer III (7.5 cm) (Panzer III N without bazooka skirts). Destroyed or bailed out escort tanks do not affect Tiger crew's morale. The mechanism is explained below: * in the opponent's turn, a platoon composed of a single Tiger I H and an escort Panzer III L has been attacked by enemy anti-tank guns, both the Tiger and the Panzer III received shots; * the German player rolls dice for armour saves - the Tiger defended itself, the Panzer III rolled one and the opponent player passed the firepower test; Panzer III is destroyed; * normally the last functioning tank in platoon needs to perform the last stand test (3+ for most of the German tanks, Tigers pass on 2+ score), yet the Escort Tanks rule is an exception from the general rule. A single Tiger I with the escort tank destroyed remains in Good Spirits and does not need to roll for morale unless the tank is bailed out itself. The Escort tanks rule does not apply to a combat platoon composed of two Tiger tanks without the Panzer IIIs - if one of the two Tigers from the platoon is destroyed, the second tank must roll for the last stand. Late-War The Late-War organization allows deploying a Tiger Heavy Tank Company as a legit force - minimum five tanks total, maximum fourteen divided in three combat platoons and HQ section. One mandatory combat platoon might be replaced with King Tiger tank platoon. Model kits * GE071 Tiger I E (resin with metal parts) * GBX15 Tiger I E Platoon (five GE071 models with decal sheet and magnets included) * GBX16 Michael Wittman (including the same model like GE071) * GBX90 Tiger Tank Platoon (five plastic models with commander sprue and decals) * GBX99 Tiger Heavy Tank Platoon (two plastic model kits with commander sprue and Afrika Korps decals) * GBX107 Tiger Heavy Tank Platoon (the same set as GBX99, just with Eastern Front decals) * TANKS28 German Tiger I Tank Expansion (the same model as in GBX90 set) * TANKS35 German Tiger Tank Expansion (the same model as in GBX99/GBX107 set) Model assembly The resin and metal model sets only require to assemble the details to the hull and turret: * the latter only requires gluing commander's cupola, loader's hatch and the gun barrel to the proper turret parts; the cupola and hatch may be placed opened or closed; * the hull requires adding threads, bow machinegun, driver's and radio operator's hatches, fenders and spare track link to the matching places. Since the quality of the metal parts is not the best, it is recommended to replace commander's cupola, bow MG and side fenders with the plastic parts for Tiger sets - those match the resin model surprisingly well, only the side fenders might require cutting. The possibility of building the turret with two open hatches makes the resin/metal Tiger I a good candidate for a company command tank, especially since the plastic German crew members fit the resin turret well. The plastic model kits require more careful assembly since the hull is composed of twelve parts and its upper part must be built from smaller parts. It is recommended to use paper clamps for securing the hull while the cement is drying. Each plastic set comes with four commander cupolas - two for the early H1 model and two for the later E model, both opened and buttoned up. Painting The Tiger's debut was in October 1942 - German tanks in that period were painted field grey colour overall. Tanks sent to North Africa were painted sand yellow instead of field grey, a couple of them had applied brownish camouflage on turrets and hulls. In the later period of war, various camouflage patterns were applied on the base sand yellow colour, though there are also evidence that tanks completed with a single yellow colour were also encountered in Italy and South-Eastern Europe between 1944 and 1945. Whitewash was also applied during the winter period. Suggested paints: Primer * Battlefront Panther Yellow * Humbrol H94 enamel * Army Painter Desert Yellow Camouflage: * medium or darker tones of green * darker tones of brown * Citadel Base Ceramite White (whitewash) * steel metalizer (for machineguns and exposed metal parts) Combat efficiency The potent gun and solid armour make the Tiger a formidable enemy, both against armour, guns, and infantry. Its armour is impervious to weapons with Anti-tank below 10, which means that the majority of the Mid-war tanks cannot effectively harm the Tiger, unless trying to attack its side and rear armour. Its main gun with AT 13 has chances of penetrating frontal armours of all the Allied and Soviet medium tanks; only the late model of British Churchill tank (frontal armour 13) and IS-2m (FA 11) might resist the shots, though the Soviet heavy tank still might be destroyed with a bad roll of the tank's owner-player. The Tiger Ace special rules also boost the already powerful tank in combat, giving it a significant advantage upon its opponents - notably the ability to re-roll failed shots by the HQ section has chances of turning the tides of any battle. However, there are still fine means of defeating that Big Cat in combat: * American M10 tank destroyers have Anti-tank value of 12 in Mid-War and 13 in Late-War - even attacking Tiger's frontal armour might pierce it; * M18 Hellcat tank destroyers and 76mm Sherman variants share the same combat efficiency as M10; * M36 Jackson and M26 Pershing with their 90mm guns (AT 14) pose a deadly threat to the Tiger - only a roll 6 against the frontal armour saves the tank, a roll 5 on frontal armour or 6 on side/rear armour lead to bail out, while lesser scores destroy the Tiger on a succesfull firepower roll (3+); * British 17-pounder gun with AT 15 (both towed, mounted on Achilles or Sherman Firefly) are lethal against the Tiger - it cannot defend from rear shots and a roll 6 against frontal armour attack leads to bail out; * the 77mm gun in the Comet tank works the same way as American 90mm; * the Soviet 85mm guns in T-34/85, SU-85 and similar vehicles perform the same good as M10 from Mid-War; * the 122mm gun used in IS-2 and ISU-122 has the same AT like the British 17-pounder, just it requires 2+ firepower score instead of 3+; * last but not least, the Soviet 100mm gun (towed and SU-100) with the AT 16 breaks through Tiger's armour without trouble, nearly always leading to destruction. The Tiger is also vulnerable to aerial attacks - planes with cannons and or rockets have good chances of killing this Big Cat with a little of luck. Suggested tactics The Tiger tank can be used as the following: * Mobile anti-tank gun - using the gun's 40"/100 cm range is a good tactic, especially when the tank is in stationary mode or it has succeeded in Blitz Move. * Mobile Pillbox - fine against weaker tanks and infantry without good anti-tank weapons. Not recommended against weapons with AT 12, 13 or 14, strongly dissuaded against weapons with AT at least 15. * Ambusher - often works well, though a platoon of anti-tank guns usually does the job better than a single Tiger. * Mobile Reserve - when used wisely, it can also perform its job well. * Support Weapon - simply a great choice for a formation built around infantry or weaker tanks. Most of the experienced German players deploy the Tiger to distract their adversary from their main force carrying out combat orders. It is recommended to focus on the enemy units capable of harming Tiger as the priority targets, once those are neutralized, the Big Cat will have better area to perform its skills. Improvements ''Fortress Europe ''introduced Command Cards, which allow enhancing the already powerful tank on the battlefield. The Tiger Ace card allows good boosts for the cost of three points: * Clever Hans gives the Tiger tanks the Scout Special Rule - on a roll 1; * Deadly Gunner grants the Unit Leader a re-roll of one failed firepower test during the Shooting Step; * The Rapid Fire card grants the Unit Leader ROF of 3 in stationary mode instead of 2; * The Schnell Command Card improves the unit's Blitz Move rating to 2+; * The Roll Over Them card grants the bonus to Assaults performed by the Unit Leader. * On a roll 6, the German player can choose one of the bonuses listed above. Another good option is Kurt Knispel Command Card - for just 8 points, the Unit Leader gains the right to re-roll one failed roll to hit and passes the Last Stand tests automatically. Image gallery GEAB15-17.png|The 2017 Late-War unit card, when Tiger I had Anti-Tank 13. resin Tiger_01b.JPG|A resin/metal Tiger I from GE071 set being assembled, with its plastic replacement used as a reference. I did replace included die-cast side fenders and commander's cupola with better-looking plastic ones. resin Tiger_01c.JPG|A plastic turret fits the resin hull, but the opposite configuration does not work. resin Tiger_02.JPG|A plastic Tiger I and a resin Tiger I. Tigers_03d.JPG|Battlefront Tigers I, in different paintjobs. DAK Tiger.JPG|A Tiger I H1 in Afrika Korps paint scheme. Modelled after the 131 tank seen in the Bovington Tank Museum. Tiger card FoW_0001.jpg|Unit cards for the Tiger tanks - side 1. Tiger card FoW_0002.jpg|Unit cards for the Tiger tanks - side 2. Tiger company_01.png|The V3 rules for deploying Tiger tanks. Currently a single Tiger I costs 29 points in Mid-War and 12 points in Late-War.. clamps.JPG|The best way of securing the plastic Tiger's hull while the cement is drying. Tigers_04.JPG|A comparison between the Tiger and its successor - the King Tiger. tiger preorder.jpg GBX140-02.jpg Tiger decals.png|The decal set for Tiger tanks. Tiger ace_01.png|The Tiger Ace command card. Tiger ace_02.png Tiger ace_03.png Tiger ace_04.png Tiger ace_05.png Tiger ace_06.png Category:German Category:Tanks Category:Vehicles Category:Mid-war Category:Late-war Category:Axis Category:Armoured Tanks Category:Tank Teams Category:Formations Category:Support